Yesterday I had 5 calls for "just a little clean-up before Easter, I have family coming over". It's only 10:45 AM this morning and I've already had 2 more calls.

I barely had two call per week before yesterday. People love to wait until the last minute. Calling for a clean-up 3 days before Easter. Some woman called me at 5PM last night and asked if I could come do it that night. LOL woman, only if you're paying 3x price.

Yesterday I had 5 calls for "just a little clean-up before Easter, I have family coming over". It's only 10:45 AM this morning and I've already had 2 more calls.

I barely had two call per week before yesterday. People love to wait until the last minute. Calling for a clean-up 3 days before Easter. Some woman called me at 5PM last night and asked if I could come do it that night. LOL woman, only if you're paying 3x price.

Yep someone just called for the same. I have a few voicemails to answer but I suspect its the usual spam.

Its really annoying people do this. It doesnt matter the season or holiday.

I been sitting around doing tune ups and painting plows. Now they want to call with no time left.

Did you put out any marketing for this? It might be a great time to market to pick up such services in the future.

No, I didn't market for this holiday in particular. I didn't even think of it, but that's a very good idea. This year, I wasn't really sure if Easter would be 30F with snow, or 65F. Like Sect said, it's just someone who is scrambling last minute before a holiday, it happens for all of them.

I went and did the estimate for this particular caller. The woman had a beautiful house and nice landscaping. Probably a 1/3 acre lot with 5 ft. wide beds around the entire perimeter of the property. Of course, full of weeds, leaves, and twigs.

She wanted "a light clean-up". In my head, I was thinking $250 to do any sort of work that I would put my name behind. Even after the clean-up, the beds would still be full of dull mulch from a year ago.
She kept saying "nothing too spectacular, just passable for visitors". So I went fishing with "well, what's your budget?" because she seemed to want a lot of stuff cleaned up for not much money.

Then she says "oh, I want to keep it under $100". As soon as she said that, in my head I thought "ok..seems like we're done here".
Not to be all high and mighty, but she isn't first in line. I'd rather do other work for people that realize they called last minute and plan to compensate appropriately.

If $100 is for blwong out the beds and baging it in the yard, sounds good. To clean it up.... pass. I don't even call people like that back. Don't even think about it. I tell them politely that I think they would be better off calling Juan or Pedro or picking them up at home depot. That I do not put my name of halfway done work. Bottom line. Its unprofessional being a hard ***. But have you ever put up a game camera during a job on a busy street of a subdivision and left it there 7 days after finishing?

You would be surprised how many people come look. If you spend any time over there anyone who has ever thought to call you will go inspect your work at any house they saw you at when home owner is not home. Would that $100 sell you to another client t if they saw what it was after you did the measly $100 in work?

thats the problem when asking "whats your budget?" Half the time youll get some lowball number. Then when you tell them a lot higher its like setting yourself up for failure.

I checked out a guys yard. He cleaned the back and sides and just needed the front done. So I'm already thinking its going to be a small job and a waste of my saturday. I get there the front is pretty damn big and thats where the trees are. I told him $350 and I need to know by friday.

I picked up a gutter job today too. This guy pretty much over budgeted himself by wanting top of the line guards. He chose the ones that go for $1 a ft(1.50 marked up). I wont be doing that till next week when hopefully things pick up.

She wanted "a light clean-up". In my head, I was thinking $250 to do any sort of work that I would put my name behind. Even after the clean-up, the beds would still be full of dull mulch from a year ago.
She kept saying "nothing too spectacular, just passable for visitors". So I went fishing with "well, what's your budget?" because she seemed to want a lot of stuff cleaned up for not much money.

With this in mind, how do you feel you might handle future situations? Could you tell her your $250 price first and point out what she will get? Then maybe if she balks, say well I could do this, this, and this for $X?

Did you put out any marketing for this? It might be a great time to market to pick up such services in the future.

We have the same problem with spring service, marketing does not seem to help, you can convince some of your regular customers into planning ahead but for the most part you will always have a good number of people that wait till the last min and wonder why you are backed up.

I attempted to do a clean up today but the transfer stations were closed. I loaded up one load, cut down 4 hedges, removed the stumps, remove a pond liner, filled it with top soil, but I have to wait till monday to dump the other 2 truck loads of leafs. The lady had no problem paying today.

thats the problem when asking "whats your budget?" Half the time youll get some lowball number. Then when you tell them a lot higher its like setting yourself up for failure.

Asking that question hasn't really given me a problem. The woman already had $100 in her head. Even before calling me for the first time.
Before she told me $100, if I spit out "My estimate is $250 for all this", she would have said "I was thinking more like $100". Then I would have left.

I know you're just going to say "you have to sell yourself", but either way she wasn't interested in spending more than ~$100. No matter when or if I told her $250. I ended up doing about 3 hours work for $150 at her house, only because she promised future work with the mulch (probably end up being ~5yards of mulch, so I'm happy about that). I actually did a damn good job with weeding, getting all the leaves out, trimming up fountain grasses that hadn't been maintained, etc.
$150 for my Friday morning isn't bad. I'll take that, especially after struggling to make $500 a month through the winter. And she seems VERY connected with the community.